Pat Shurmur coaches the Browns on the sideline during the second quarter of Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, a 24-10 loss. According to according to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, Shurmur on Monday was relieved of his duties as head coach, and General Manager Tom Heckert was fired, as well.

The bottom line is this as owner Jimmy Haslam and CEO Joe Banner begin to put a new face on the Browns:

The strongest personality in the building won't belong to the team president, as it did when Mike Holmgren truly was The Big Show Berea, or the general manager. The strongest personality will belong to the head coach -- someone such as current Alabama head coach Nick Saban.

"We made the determination the greater impact on our future was going to be the head coach," Banner said during a news conference Monday morning in Berea. "We need to make sure we find two people who fit together well and complement each other well. We want the skill set of the head coach to drive what we'd be looking for in the position we'd hire after that."

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About three hours earlier, Haslam and Banner fired Pat Shurmur as head coach and Tom Heckert as general manager. The Browns were 9-23 under Shurmur in two seasons. Heckert lasted three years.

Haslam and Banner said many kind things about both deposed men during the news conference, but they believe they have to find other leaders to make the Browns a Super Bowl contender.

"I think that both of them left the organization better than when they came," Haslam said. "We just felt like it was necessary -- to get to a championship level -- to make these changes."

The plan is to hire a head coach first and a director of player personnel second. Banner admits some competent personnel evaluators will be put off by the notion the coach will be the boss, but Haslam and Banner are OK with that.

Banner said the interview process will begin immediately. According to Foxsports.com, the Browns have already set up an interview with Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter. Koetter, 53, joined Mike Smith's staff in Atlanta after five seasons as the Jaguars' offensive coordinator.

Haslam listed the qualities he is looking for in his first coaching hire:

"A strong leader, tough, candidly demanding, organized, good attention to detail, able to motivate people ..." Haslam said. "The NFL is a long season with a collective group of individuals. To keep those people playing hard and interested in the team is a tough challenge."

The division of duties is an important part of the coaching/GM search. Banner wants the head coach to pick the 53-man roster at the end of training camp and the 46-man roster on game day. Who has the final say on draft picks, free agency and trades depends on who is hired as head coach. Those decisions could be a collaborative effort with banner included.

"If we end up with a coach that we thought was extremely strong in player personnel, he'll have a larger role, potentially even to the point of final say," Banner said. "If we think the coach is going to be more effective, if he's really, really focused on just coaching the team, then we'd probably look for somebody even stronger on the player personnel side to complement him. That's why we think the skill set of the coach should drive the eventual structure."

Haslam said, "The sooner, the better," but he wants to make sure to get the right coach. He said it is important the coach and personnel director, or whatever title that person gets, be "joined at the hip."

During the five months he has been involved with the Browns, Haslam has come to know how sick fans are of the constant change. The coach he hires will be No. 6 in 15 years. The original Browns did not get to coach No. 6 until the middle of their 38th season when Marty Schottenheimer replaced Sam Rutigliano in 1984.

"This is a tremendous football town and a tremendous environment," Haslam said. "If we can get it right, it will be unbelievable."

Banner contradicted published reports that said he and Haslam have ruled out candidates that have had head coaching jobs before in the NFL. Such criteria would rule out Jon Gruden (formerly a head coach with Oakland and Tampa Bay), Josh McDaniels (Denver), Marty Mornhinweg (Detroit) and Smith.

"There are only two people who know who the candidates are, and you're looking at both of them," Haslam said. "Although we only made the decision with Pat and Tom in the last week or two, I think any responsible person does succession planning and, candidly, we've been doing succession planning for the last two or three months."

The football season ended Sunday for the Browns, but the race for a new head coach in a crowded field has just begun. The Bears, Cardinals, Chiefs, Chargers, Bills and Eagles are also looking for new coaches.

The Cardinals, Jets, Chargers and Jaguars as well as the Browns are looking for general managers.

Mike Lombardi, who has ties to Banner from their days in Philadelphia, continues to be a leading candidate to replace Heckert as general manager.

The Browns do not have a reputation for stability around the league. How could they? Chris Palmer was fired as head coach after two years, Butch Davis resigned with five games left in his fourth year, Romeo Crennel lasted four seasons and Eric Mangini and Shurmur were fired after two seasons each.

Dwight Clark, Pete Garcia, Phil Savage, George Kokinis and Heckert all had the title of general manager or the equivalent in personnel evaluation.

"This is going to sound self-serving, but I think you've got a stable leadership, ownership here now that I think is involved at the proper amount," Haslam said. "I think you have a real NFL veteran in Joe. This is a tremendous football town that yearns for a winner. I think all of that makes for this to be a job that a lot of people would have interest in."

All the assistant coaches Shurmur left behind are under contract. Haslam and Banner met with them, too. They told the assistants they are free to seek other jobs as long as a team that might be interested goes through Banner or Haslam to get permission.

"At the same time, when our new head coach comes in, he may want to hire some of those individuals himself," Haslam said. "They're well aware of the approximate timetable."

Haslam said the entire scouting department is being retained. Changes in scouting and personnel don't usually occur until after the draft.